The Role At Notpla, we create disappearing packaging carefully engineered
for a healthy planet. Founded on the belief that nature knows best,
we’re an innovative, ideas and action-oriented scale-up developing and
manufacturing packaging solutions from seaweed and plants that
disappear naturally. We are currently looking to recruit a Research
Scientist to join our innovative Research team to support our pivotal
research and development with a particular focus on our rapidly
developing films product.
At Notpla, we strongly believe in
our mission and our employees' ability to help us achieve our goals.
We encourage everyone who joins us to develop and grow and take
responsibility for your domain without micromanagement. Our objective
is to foster a fantastic business culture that is reflected in our
working policies and environment.
Besides offering exciting
roles and a great working environment, Notpla provides competitive
salaries, the potential for EMI Share Options, a zero-carbon pension
scheme, discounts with local businesses, and subsidised social
activities. Our flexible working policy allows you to work at your own
pace.
We are a social business with regular clubs and events,
and we are proud of how our diverse workplace has created a community
that is all pushing towards the common goal of making plastic
disappear.
The driving force behind every Notpla product is its
research department. A highly innovative and talented team of
individuals comprising graduates, experienced scientists, PhDs, and
industry professionals, this diverse range of backgrounds has enabled
the team to build a solid technical expertise capable of answering any
question. As a team member, you will be encouraged to pursue your
ideas, trusted in your role, and empowered to strive for the best. As
a Research Scientist you will be responsible for the formulation
development of natural, edible, biodegradable materials for packaging
applications, working closely with the development team to push our
products into the real world.
Your profile We are looking for an
experienced scientist with a degree in Polymer Science or Engineering,
Materials Science or Chemistry with a strong understanding of
polymeric materials and extrusion technologies. You will have a
demonstrable interest in natural materials and extrusion, ideally with
hands-on experience working with plastics processing. You will also
have at least a years experience working in an industrial research
environment within bioplastics, polymer extrusion or polymer
processing, or a PhD within a relevant discipline. As well as the
above, your day to day responsibilities will also include:
Identifying, sourcing and testing natural materials
with specific target properties
Characterisation of
materials performance using mechanical and physical techniques e.g.
tensile testing
Preparation of samples using
extrusion and other techniques
Working closely with
the development & scale up team to translate lab scale formulations to
the larger scale, including participation in internal and external
manufacturing trials where needed
Conducting
shelf-life evaluation and quality analysis of prototypes and finished
products
Benchmarking of Notpla formulations against
industrial standards
Extrusion of natural material
formulations through compounding and film formation
If the above sounds like something you can see yourself doing,
then please apply with a CV and cover letter and someone from our
recruitment team will be in touch.
About us We’re hard to define
because what we’re doing hasn’t been done before.
Notpla
is a sustainable packaging start-up founded in 2014. A combination of
designers, chemists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. We create advanced
packaging solutions made from seaweed and other natural materials as
an alternative to single-use plastic.
We received multiple
awards and grants from Innovate UK and the Ellen
Macarthur Foundation for our innovative product “Ooho ” –
an edible and fully biodegradable sachet. Our portfolio has now
extended with multiple innovation solutions.
We're committed to
creating a working environment where every member of our team can
bring their full self to work regardless of their race, religion,
gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national
origin, genetics, disability or age.